18 years ago, i met this kitten. she lived in my grandmother’s back yard. my mom and i went over and caught her. it was 1 month after i moved out of the house. she has been with me ever since.

motor has many special features, including 7 toes. sometimes she folds them very neatly, like this. i knew i wanted to name my next cat motor, because of the purring, but i didn’t realize i’d end up with a cat who was also a natural at very loud purring. it worked out pretty well.

she also has different-colored eyes. unfortunately, she lost her hearing sometime around when she was 3. this has caused her to be fearless of things like strangers or the vacuum, but also gotten her locked in neighbor’s trucks and apartments. she has a hankering for perimeter checks, she just walks right in. since she is cute and white, we try to give her a bath every year or so.

in addition to being cute, she is also does physical comedy. when these dishes i bought off ebay arrived with some broken pieces, and i couldn’t accept reality right away, she sat on them, leaned on them to lick her leg, and then napped on them. she sleeps a lot, in funny places, with her head hanging off things upside-down, she makes funny faces, begs for cheese, plays innocent while passive-aggressively sitting on our other cat, and she burps. when she’s done being funny, she goes back to sleep.

when you have an old cat, you spend a lot of time cuddling. it’s mostly what they like to do. when i found her, i used to think it would be amazing if she lived this long, but she is still relatively healthy and youthful for her age. happy birthday to you, motor, now let’s get you registered to vote!